


Repainting The Past

by ladymidath



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-07-05
Updated: 2004-07-05
Packaged: 2019-02-05 15:28:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12797310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladymidath/pseuds/ladymidath
Summary: Walter, Fox and Alex spent their first  Christmas together.





	Repainting The Past

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Haven, the archivist: This story was originally archived at [Fandom Haven Story Archive (FHSA)](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Fandom_Haven_Story_Archive), was scheduled to shut down at the end of 2016. To preserve the archive, I began working with the OTW to transfer the stories to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in November 2017. If you are this creator and the work hasn't transferred to your AO3 account, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Fandom Haven Story Archive collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/fhsa/profile).

"But it's his first proper Christmas Walter, we have to make it special 

for him." Fox said.

 

Walter nodded. "I agree Fox, but you know how he gets this time of year. I 

just don't want to put him under more stress then necessary, that's all."

 

"Look I'm not talking about a huge party or anything, just a few close 

friends, you know, The Lone Gunmen, Dana, John Doggett, they could bring 

William, you know how much Alex loves to see William." Fox was almost 

pleading now.

 

"I know...I agree, but the way Alex has been lately, I don't think he 

could cope with any kind of celebration right now."

 

"Well can we at least get a tree?" Fox asked, he saw the doubt in Walter's 

eyes. "Oh come on Walter....a tree for God's sake, everyone has a tree."

 

"Not if you are Jewish." Walter joked. He saw the look on Fox's face, then 

relented.

 

"Oh okay, a tree, a small tree Fox, you know what happened last time we 

brought a tree into the house."

 

"Yeah, I remember, Alex took off and it took us three days and the help of 

missing persons to find him."

 

"I was half out of my mind with worry for him, I had no idea what he was 

going to do." Walter said. His face had become grave, remembering the 

frantic search for their distraught lover. He also recalled how upset and 

worried Fox had been as well.

 

They had finally managed to track the missing young Russian down to a run 

down bar in one of the worst areas in Washington. He had been passed out 

over a table while several bikers were standing around placing bets on who 

was going to fuck him first.

 

Walter and Fox had turned up just in time.

 

They had gotten the still unconscious man home and had taken him upstairs 

to their room to sleep it off.

 

After Alex had woken up, he had one hell of a hangover and one hell of a 

telling off from both his worried and now angry lovers.

 

Alex had sat quietly at the kitchen table while first Fox then Walter 

administered a tongue lashing that both of them hoped that the younger man 

would not soon forget. Fox had been furious, ranting and venting until he 

had finally worked his anger out of his system. But Walter had sat down 

and calmly explained how worried and what sort of hell that Alex's actions 

had put them both through.

 

By the time the Walter had finished, Alex was resting his head on the 

table, sobbing inconsolably, his slender frame shaking with sorrow.

 

Both Walter and Fox had gathered the distraught man into their arms and 

together they comforted him. But after that, around Christmas time, they 

always had to keep an extra eye on him.

 

They had discovered bit by bit, that Christmas was a painful time for 

Alex, he had never really had a Christmas. When he was young, there had 

been gifts and a tree. His family had celebrated the Yuletide in proper 

Russian tradition, but after he was taken to join the Consortium, any sort 

of holiday or celebration was denied him.

 

As Lucas had been so fond of pointing out, operatives had more important 

things to then celebrate meaningless holidays.

 

So every Christmas had been spent by either stalking an intended 

assassination victim, or doing some covert surveillance.

 

But he never spent a Christmas with anyone that he loved.

 

When Walter and Fox found this out, they resolved to make every Christmas 

together special. But Alex resisted every attempt, the same with 

Halloween, Thanksgiving and Valentines Day.

 

In short, Alex hated every kind of holiday that there was...but Christmas, 

that held a special loathing for him.

 

So Walter had decided to talk to Fox about skipping Christmas this year, 

no tree, no presents. Just a quiet day at home in front of the fireplace.

 

And as predicted, Fox had been less the thrilled. He too had not had very 

good Christmas's after his sister Samantha had been taken, but as least 

his parents had managed to pull something together every year.

 

All of Walter's Christmas's and holidays had been wonderful, he came from 

a close knit Russian American family that had always gathered together for 

every special day, so it was a sacrifice for him to have to cancel this 

year, but his mother and father had been most understanding.

 

At first they had not really understood why their ex-marine son had taken 

up residence with two younger men, one of them an ex spy and assassin that 

had dammed near killed their eldest son with nanocytes. But after a while 

they had come to accept it and finally come to like Fox and Alex as much 

as they liked and cared for all their other sons and daughters-in-law.

 

"All right Walter, we can forget the tree I guess that's not important, 

but as least a couple of gifts, nothing elaborate, just a couple of small 

presents...please?"

 

Walter grinned and shook his head helplessly. "Oh all right Fox, just turn 

off the pout and the great big puppy dog eyes please."

 

"Great." Fox jumped up. "I'll go and get the turkey and all the other 

stuff that we need for Christmas dinner, and you can go and get the 

presents. I have a list up in my room, wait here and I'll get it."

 

Walter sighed, one thing about Fox Mulder, once he had an idea fixed in 

his head, there was no way you could budge him from it.

 

He was soon back down, list in his hand. "I have written everything down 

for all of us." He told Walter as he handed him the list.

 

Walter read it, chuckling. "So not only have you included the gifts that 

you intended on buying, you have also included gifts from myself and Alex 

as well, Fox, you are incredible, you know that don't you."

 

Fox grinned, his hazel eyes alight with pleasure at a job well done. "Well 

I knew that you were thinking of canceling Christmas this year so I 

thought a little planning ahead couldn't hurt."

 

"Brat." Walter replied affectionately. "All right then, and I'll relent on 

the tree, but Fox, I don't know how Alex is going to react to all this, 

last year was supposed to be our first Christmas together and it sent him 

into a complete spin. I just don't think this year is going to be any 

better. All I am trying to say is please don't expect to much."

 

Fox nodded, subdued. Then he looked up at Walter, his eyes dark with 

worry. "Do you think maybe I'm just being selfish?" He asked.

 

Walter reached out and gathered the younger man into his arm, holding him 

close.

 

"No, of course not." He reassured Fox gently. "Maybe it's time that Alex 

learned to get past what happened to him, he has to learn to start dealing 

with things like this, so I guess now might be the time to start."

 

Fox nodded, still not quite sure, but pleased that they were going to have 

a more traditional Christmas all the same, he was just hoping that he was 

not being too selfish.

 

Walter stood up, laying his hand on Fox's shoulder reassuringly. "This is 

going to be a good Christmas for all of us, I am going to make sure of 

that."

 

"Okay." Fox replied. "But the big question is, how can we get Alex to 

enjoy it?"

 

Walter sighed, the exact same question had been going through his mind." 

"Well, we are just going to have to be patient and understanding..and 

watch him like a hawk so he does not take off on us again."

Two

Alex knew that something was up when Walter had asked him to to to the 

supermarket for a few things. He had written a list and shoved it into 

Alex's hand.

 

"It's just a few odds and ends that we are low on." Walter had told him. 

Alex had left happily enough. He did not mind going to the super market, 

it was one of the things he did that made him feel useful and part of the 

family that the three of them had made.

 

He glanced at the list, the first item on it was milk.

 

That's strange, we have milk." He thought, he'd had a glass when he had 

first come back inside. He had been shoveling snow off the sidewalk, until 

his good arm had started to ache, so he had decided to take a rest for 

awhile.

 

The next thing on the list was a loaf of bread. But we have bread as well, 

I got two loaves yesterday.

 

Sugar Pops, since when did we eat those? He frowned, they did not need any 

of this stuff. This was not like Walter at all, he never sent Alex on 

useless errands. Okay, so what the hell was going on?

 

"Do you think he suspected anything?" Fox asked as he and Walter carried 

the large tree into the house.

 

Walter chuckled. "He should, I wrote a heap of stuff on the list that we 

either did not need, or don't use."

 

They both wrestled the tree into the living room, then Walter went back 

out to the car to get the ceramic pot that it sat in.

 

Carefully they lifted the tree up and set it into the pot.

 

"There." Fox said, satisfied, they both shifted the tree and sat it near 

the large window.

 

"I'll go and get the decorations, we'll be able to get it done before Alex 

gets back home." With that, he headed upstairs to the large closet where 

they stored all their stuff.

 

After a couple of trips down the stairs, hefting large cardboard boxes, 

Walter and Fox soon had the tree covered in sparkling decorations.

 

"Now all we need are the lights and we're done." Walter said, stepping 

back to look at the now transformed tree. He reached out to straighten one 

of the crystal angels hanging from a branch, it was a family heirloom 

inherited from a great grandmother, who had bought the set from a tiny 

little shop in Kiev.

 

"Uh oh, Walter, I can't find the Christmas tree lights." Fox was kneeling 

on the floor, rummaging through the cardboard boxes.

 

"They should be there." Walter knelt down and started going through the 

other cardboard carton, but no Christmas tree lights.

 

"I can run down to the hardware store, they had some lights on special." 

Fox suggested.

 

"Sure, but come straight back, I want to get the tree finished before Alex 

gets back." Walter replied.

 

Just then the front door opened and Alex walked in. He was carrying a 

couple of shopping bags.

 

"I'm back." He called out as he carried the bags into the kitchen. Both 

Walter and Fox looked at each other nervously. Then Walter called out. "We 

are in here Alex!"

 

He set the bags on the kitchen table and walked through into the living 

room... and stopped dead.

 

"Well?" Fox said. "What do you think?"

 

Alex stared at the shimmering Christmas tree for a moment, then without a 

word, turned on his heel and stalked upstairs.

 

Fox exhaled noisily. "Okay, so maybe this wasn't such a good idea after 

all."

 

"I'll go to talk to him." Walter said, glancing upstairs.

 

"All right, and I'll go get those lights." Fox grabbed his keys off the 

hook near the door and walked out to his car, while Walter went upstairs 

to speak to Alex.

 

He found the younger man in the bathroom, splashing water on his face. 

 

"Alex, are you all right?" Walter asked hesitantly. Alex turned around, 

Walter could see that he had been crying.

 

Alex said nothing, instead he reached out and grabbed a towel and started 

to dry his face.

 

"Alex, I know that Christmas is not exactly one of your favourite times of 

the year, but Fox and I thought..."

 

"Look Walter if you and Fox want to celebrate Christmas, fine with me." 

Alex snapped. He tossed the towel back onto the rack and pushing past 

Walter, headed back downstairs.

 

"Alex...wait!" Walter followed him down the stairs.

 

"I haven't put the groceries away yet." Alex headed to the kitchen.

 

"Shit." Walter muttered under his breath, why had he let Fox talk him into 

having Christmas? Then he remembered, it had been his idea that Alex 

should start facing the demons of his past.

 

Alex started taking the bread and milk out of the bags, putting them away.

 

"It's funny you know." He remarked as Walter watched him moved around the 

kitchen. "I was wondering why you sent me to get groceries that we did not 

need, well now I know." He slammed the cupboard door shut and then turned 

and headed back into the living room.

 

"Oh for...Alex." Walter stormed after the younger man, he was rapidly 

losing patience now.

 

He grabbed Alex by his good arm and hauled him around.

 

"Let me go Walter." Alex snapped, trying to pull out of the bigger man's 

grip.

 

"Not until you listen to what I have to say." Walter told him, his voice 

brooking no argument.

 

"Fuck you!" Alex tried to twist out of Walter's grasp, but it was no good. 

Walter hauled the furious man over to the couch and pushed him down into 

it.

 

"You know how I feel about you cursing at me Alex so knock it off." Walter 

growled. Alex glared up at him, his face reddening.

 

"If I want to fucking well curse, then I fucking well will Walter." He 

sneered.

 

Walter drew a deep breath. He knew that Alex was acting out because he was 

frightened and insecure, it was important that he did not react to this 

deliberate attempt to antagonize, but it was never easy.

 

"Look Alex, Fox and I, well we talked about this and we decided to have 

Christmas this year after all. Now we both know how you feel about any 

holiday but..."

 

"Is that why you had to send me off on some bullshit errand so that you 

and Fox could sneak a tree in?" Alex asked. Walter could hear the hurt in 

Alex's voice.

 

"We wanted to surprise you." He replied.

 

"Ha, well you did that all right."

 

Walter sighed and looked down at his hands. "Okay Alex, I'll admit that 

maybe we should not have sprung this on you, but all Fox and I are trying 

to do is too make this special for you."

 

"I don't want to hurt you Alex." Walter told him gently. He reached over 

to stroke the soft sable hair.

 

"Alex listen to me." Walter said. "You can't let what happened to you in 

the past control your future. Remember what it was I said to you when we 

first got you home from the hospital?"

 

Alex nodded reluctantly. "Triumph or despair." He whispered.

 

"That's right baby." Walter said, nodding. "Triumph or despair, it's your 

choice Alex. We can't make it for you, you need to choose for yourself."

 

Walter heard Alex take a deep breath, he knew that the younger man was on 

verge of tears now, so he waited.

 

Finally Alex lifted his head up, his eyes red and puffy. "Walter." He 

whispered, that one word spoke volumes. All the years of hurt and 

loneliness and fear was in that one word.

 

Walter gathered him into his arms, holding him, murmuring comforting words 

as he rubbed slow circles on his back and neck, soothing him.

 

That was the way Fox found them both when he walked through the front door 

a few minutes later, carrying a couple of boxes.

 

"I guess our differences have been sorted out?" He asked with a grin. Both 

Alex and Walter looked up at him, smiling.

 

"Yeah they have." Alex replied, using his sleeve to wipe at his damp eyes. 

"I'm sorry I was so bad tempered about the tree. It's beautiful."

 

"It will look even better after the lights are up." Fox said as he handed 

Alex one of the boxes. Alex opened it up, there nestled inside were 

Christmas tree lights all coiled up, waiting to be taken out and hung on 

the tree.

 

Together the three of them hung the light over the branches, being careful 

not to accidentally bump any of the ornaments down.

 

After they were finished, Walter switched the lights on, the room was lit 

with a mellow glow as a hundred tiny softly coloured bulbs shed their glow 

over the large comfortable room.

 

"It is beautiful." Alex breathed, then he turned and walked away, his 

shoulders slumped.

 

Fox sighed. "It's going to take awhile I guess." He said ruefully.

 

"Well you know that Rome wasn't built in a day." Walter replied. Together 

they found Alex sitting outside on the back porch, he was curled up in the 

old rocking chair that Fox had bought last summer from a place that liked 

to think of itself as an antique store although in reality it was little 

more than a junk shop.

 

"It's freezing out here Alex and you haven't got a jacket on." Walter 

remarked as he sat down on the old wrought iron chair next to him.

 

"Neither have you." Alex replied with a watery smile. Fox chuckled and 

reached down to pull the younger man up out of the chair.

 

"I know a good way of getting us all warmed up." He said. Walter chuckled. 

"Fox, I swear, you have a one track mind."

 

Fox turned to him, eyebrow raised. "I was thinking of hot cocoa actually." 

He replied, "but if you have something else in mind..."

 

Together the three of them went back inside.

Three

 

 

Alex lay in the middle of the huge bed, his head resting on Fox's 

shoulder. Fox held him as Walter entered him from behind, kissing the back 

of his neck.

 

Alex gasped, arching with pleasure as Walter moved with slow precision 

inside him.

 

He lifted his head up to allow Fox to plunder his mouth, kissing him 

thoroughly.

 

Fox gazed into Alex emerald green eyes, heavy lidded with passion.

 

"Spoiled brat." Fox told him affectionately. Alex broke into a slow grin. 

"That's what you love about me Fox." He replied throatily.

 

Alex moved his head down to run his tongue over Fox's nipples, making the 

other man cry out.

 

"That's what I love about brats." He gasped as Alex delved lower. "They 

sure as hell have talented tongues."

 

After the three of them had finished making love, they lay, holding each 

other, listening to the wind as it howled through the trees. By the sound 

of it, they were in for a storm.

 

"Pity the sailors on the sea tonight." Alex mumbled sleepily as he 

snuggled against Walter.

 

Walter glanced at him with a smile. "That's an old saying I haven't heard 

in a long time."

 

"My mother always used to say it when she knew a storm was coming." He 

replied, his eyes closed, on the verge of sleep.

 

Walter sighed and ran his fingers lovingly across Alex's angular cheek.

 

"*Go to sleep little one, and may you have beautiful dreams*." Walter said 

in Russian.

 

Obediently Alex closed his eyes and was soon asleep. Smiling, Walter 

curled up beside him, throwing his arm over Alex's slender body, his large 

hands resting on Fox's hip.

 

His last thought before he drifted off to sleep was, yes, this is where it 

begins...this is where the healing starts.

Four

 

 

Alex had his head stuck in the fridge, rummaging around. "I think we are 

out of egg nog." He called out.

 

"Don't worry, I'll go and get some more." Fox said as he poured himself 

another cup of coffee.

 

"Okay." Alex said as he closed the fridge door. He walked over to the 

kitchen table and sat down. 

"Fox, can I ask you a question?"

 

"Sure."

 

"Was the tree your idea?"

 

Fox looked up at him. "Are you angry?" He asked.

 

Alex shook his head. No...well I was at first, but not now."

 

"We did this for you Alex." Fox told him gently. "We did this so that 

maybe you can start to heal."

 

Alex reached over and took Fox's hand in his own. "I know." He replied. "I 

know."

 

Just at that moment, Walter entered the kitchen. "Hi." he said as he 

walked over to the stove to pour himself a cup of coffee.

 

"Fox and I are going to the store to buy some more egg nog." Alex said. 

"Want to come along?"

 

"No, I have some things I have to do today." Walter replied. "You two go, 

have fun."

 

"Fun, going to the supermarket is not exactly my idea of fun." Fox 

muttered, but he allowed himself to be pulled out of the door and out to 

the car by a newly enthusiastic Alex.

 

Walter watched them both go, then smiling he poured himself a cup of 

coffee and headed upstairs to wrap the Christmas presents.

Five

 

 

Alex and Fox were both sitting on the floor, opening their gifts. Walter 

had sneaked down the night before to place the presents under the tree 

when they had both been sleeping.

 

After they had unwrapped all their gifts, Walter poured them all a glass 

of mulled wine.

 

"I have a gift for all of us." Alex said suddenly. Walter and Fox looked 

at him curiously.

 

"I...I hid it up in the attic when you were both at work." Alex told them 

both. "I'll go get it."

 

Presently he came back down into the living room carrying something 

wrapped in brown paper.

 

"I hired a local artist to paint it." He explained as he tore the brown 

wrapping off the frame.

 

Both Walter and Fox gasped at the wonderful painting that depicted the 

three of them standing together, against a backdrop of roses. This had 

been painted from a photo that Dana had taken a few months ago.

 

"I borrowed the photo and took it to this young artist that lives on 

Harcard street. He's very good." Alex explained. "I just thought it would 

be nice to have our love for each other set down in oil, so it would last 

forever." Suddenly he blushed, embarrassed.

 

Both Walter and Fox gathered their sweet young lover in their arms, 

holding him close.

 

"It's beautiful Alex." Walter told him, kissing his hair. "It's the nicest 

gift of all."

 

Alex smiled, pleased, this had turned out to be a wonderful Christmas 

after all.

 

Walter and Fox hung the painting up over the fireplace. Then afterwards 

they sat down to the traditional meal that Walter had prepared.

 

"You know something." Alex said as they took their seats around the dining 

room table. "We should do this every year."

 

Both Walter and Fox stared at him for a moment, then burst out laughing, 

after a moment, Alex joined in.

 

And outside, the snow had started to fall.

End This Part


End file.
